


I Don't Remember You

by BreeTaylor



Series: Prompts [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Amnesia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 20:32:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5469962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BreeTaylor/pseuds/BreeTaylor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Have I mentioned I am terrible with titles?) Ray gets hurt and ends up with amnesia, meaning he no longer knows who anyone is. Who Joel is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Don't Remember You

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize if any details about amnesia are incorrect. I did my best to research it, but things were a little unclear at points.

When Ray opened his eyes, the brightness was almost blinding. He blinked past it, and as he did the faces of the people circling him came into view. They were all crouched over, concerned looks on their faces. The only one he recognized was Michael.

“Dude, you okay?” He asked.

“I think so,” Ray said, pushing himself up onto his elbows. The group around him took a step back. As he glanced around the room, he realized he had no idea where he was. “Uh, where are we?”

“What do you mean? We’re in the office.”

Ray frowned, “What office?”

“ _Our_  office,” Michael said, but before he could explain further, a man burst through the door and lunged right towards him. Ray quickly pushed himself away, until his back hit a wall.

“Ray!” The man exclaimed, “Oh my god I was so worried when they told me—”

“Who are you?” Ray asked. “Michael, I don’t know where we are, what’s going on?”

One of the other men pulled him aside, whispering something into his ear. The bearded guy pulled out his phone, calling 9-1-1. Everyone was looking at him with such concern, but Ray couldn’t understand why.

None of them looked as distressed as the one who had burst through the door, though. He looked almost heartbroken. He fiddled with the strings on his hoodie and kept staring at him. Ray still didn’t know who he was.

“An ambulance is on its way,” The bearded one said. “Geoff, why don’t you get everyone out of here.”

Ray was grateful when everyone dispersed, leaving only him and Michael, who sat next to him against the wall. Ray stared at his feet, not recognizing the shoes he was wearing. “What happened, Michael?”

“You hit your head pretty hard when your chair fell back,” Michael explained, “Jack thinks you might have lost some of your short-term memories.”

“I… what?”

“We’re in Texas, Ray. At Rooster Teeth. We work there.”

Ray shook his head, “No… we’re in New York. I just got fired from Game Stop…”

“That was two years ago, man.” Michael said sadly, and then there were paramedics coming into the room, strapping something around his neck and forcing him to lie on a gurney.

* * *

As it turns out, Jack had been right. Ray was suffering from some sort of amnesia. His doctor had high hopes that he would fully recover the lost memories, but as always she said it wasn’t a guarantee. It was decided that he would go home the next morning under constant care and supervision. Ray wasn’t exactly happy about it, but it was better than spending what could end up being months in a hospital room.

The doctor also thought that maybe if he was surrounded by his current life his memories would come back faster, or at all. Ray could only hope she was right. He got very little sleep that night, and eagerly awaited Michael the next morning.

But Michael didn’t come. Instead, it was the man from the day before. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m taking you home.”

“I don’t even know you,” Ray reminded him.

“I’m Joel,” The man said, reaching out a hand. Ray shook it tentatively. The warmth was admittedly very comforting. “And I know it might not seem like it, Ray, but you know me very well.”

“I do?”

Joel nodded. “I know you were expecting Michael, but they couldn’t put him in charge of keeping an eye on you since he wasn’t listed as your emergency contact.”

“But you were?” Again, Joel nodded. As Ray grabbed the few things that he had ended up acquiring at the hospital, he couldn’t help but wonder what Joel’s relation to him was. Obviously he was important enough to be in this position, but  _why_?

On the drive to wherever his apartment was, Ray decided to ask. Joel immediately looked uncomfortable with the question. “I was told that it might be better to just… let you figure that kinda stuff out on your own. Your doctor said that telling you all about your life might be too much of a shock.”

“…Yet I’m supposed to trust you enough to care for me?”

“I know its hard Ray, but you’ve gotta trust me. I’m not just some stranger.”

“You are right now…” Ray said, and again Joel looked completely heartbroken. 

* * *

His apartment was… nice. A lot nicer than the one he remembered in New York. Although if everyone was telling the truth and he  _did_  work at Achievement Hunter (which—what?!) he could understand why he could afford a place like this. Joel seemed comfortable in the apartment, another thing he didn’t expect. He plopped himself down on the couch, letting Ray find his bearings and explore.

He glanced at the pictures on his walls. Some of them were of him with employees at Rooster Teeth, some of them seemed to be art featuring his gamertag. Both evidence that he had, in fact, achieved his dream job somehow. It was clear that some pictures had been taken down, though. In some spots Ray could see the discoloration on the wall where the sun had hit every other spot. He wondered what Joel was hiding.

“Okay, well, thanks for dropping me off. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Oh, um, I’m not allowed to leave you alone.”

“Oh.”

Joel coughed, “Yeah, um… Your doctor said that I needed to be here in case you woke up at night and panicked.”

“Okay…”

“I’ll sleep on the couch,” Joel assured. Ray nodded awkwardly, and headed back into his bedroom. One half seemed barer than the other, and it was the same in his closet. He changed quickly into his PJ’s, and then moved back into the living room to find Joel in the middle of making his couch into a bed.

“Did I live with someone?”

Joel jumped almost a foot in the air, “What?”

“It looks like half my room is just… missing.” Joel couldn’t stop fidgeting, and he looked anywhere but where Ray was standing. “Joel?”

“Um, yes. You did have someone.” He said quickly, “But your doctor said it would be best to wait and see if your memories would come back.”

“So you kicked her out of my apartment?”

“Um, not quite.” Joel rubbed the back of his neck, “They left voluntarily. They just want what’s best for you and definitely are not angry at all. Promise. They said that they look forward to when you remember again, but until then they’re more than happy just being one of your friends.”

Ray wasn’t sure why Joel was so nervous, but he was honestly too tired to worry about it at this point. Instead he plopped down next to him. “Let’s just watch some TV, okay?”

Joel nodded, reaching for the remote on the table and throwing on the Food Channel. Ray had to admit he approved. About half way through one of the dozen shows hosted by Gordon Ramsey, Ray could feel himself dozing off. For whatever reason, he just let himself slump over onto Joel. For some reason it felt more normal than he thought it would.

* * *

As he slept that night, flashes of what he knew was his life seemed to play out. Him telling Geoff he needed a job, meeting Gavin and Jack and freaking out with Michael, getting his apartment, and Joel… lots of Joel. Everything so  _happy_ , though. Like whenever Joel was around his whole world lightened.

When he woke up, he was more confused than when he went to bed. He was still in Joel’s lap and the man in question was sleeping soundly. Ray knew he should feel awkward about the situation but he just… didn’t. He took the opportunity to study Joel a little closer. All the little lines in his face, the ones that showed how good of a life he had lived so far. All the little creases from years of smiling that Ray couldn’t help but grin at himself. His dark hair was disheveled, but Ray was starting to realize it wasn’t so much from sleeping, but because he would tug at it whenever he was nervous or anxious.

Ray wanted to know what their relationship was. He wanted to know why Joel was so close to him, and why he seemed to be so comfortable around Joel in return. Even now, he was just lying with his head in what was essentially a stranger’s lap, yet it felt completely natural—even soothing in a way. It was almost like some sort of normality, just none that he was necessarily familiar with.

It wasn’t much later that Joel blinked his eyes open. He glanced down at Ray and smiled the biggest smile. “’Morning.”

“Joel?” Ray asked, “I want to know what our relationship was.”

Joel immediately looked uncomfortable. “I, um…”

“Why am I so comfortable around you?”

“Ray…”

“Please, Joel.”

He sighed heavily, lightly nudging Ray up. “This is going to come as a bit of a shock to you. I just want you to know that, when this happened the first time it wasn’t easy. It took a long time for you to adjust… for us both to adjust. And I just want you to know that I don’t expect anything. I don’t expect you to feel any different than you do now.”

Ray swallowed around the lump in his throat, but he nodded. He just wanted to know.

“We, uh… we were dating. Are dating? I don’t know. Our one year anniversary in next year.”

“We… we what?” Ray squeaked, “I’m not gay.”

“No you’re not. You’re bi, and so am I. We didn’t expect anything to happen, but then it did and, well… Yeah. The rest is kind of just history.”

“But…” Ray looked around the apartment, “So you were the person who ‘left’?”

“Yeah.”

“I want to see the pictures.” Ray said quickly. Part of him couldn’t believe what Joel was saying, yet there was something tugging at him. An underlying feeling of… rightness.

Joel picked up a backpack from the floor, which Ray most certainly didn’t remember him having the night before. He pulled out a stack of frames and handed them over, looking more nervous than Ray really thought he should be.

The first picture was obviously a selfie. If Ray had to guess, he would assume it was taken at RTX. There was a huge crowd behind them, and both of them had huge, beaming smiles. Ray had his arms thrown around Joel’s shoulders, and Joel’s free hand was gripping his own waist tightly.

The next couple were more selfies, usually with them pulling some sort of goofy face, or with Joel staring at Ray like he was the center of his universe.

The last picture was the only one that screamed they were dating, and Ray had a feeling it wasn’t one that would get shared with many people. It had been taken by someone else, though he had no idea who. Ray was sitting at what he guessed was his desk in the Achievement Hunter office, and Joel was leaning down to press an innocent kiss to his lips. They both had their eyes closed, but there was a hint of a smile on both their lips. The picture was oddly intimate, and it made Ray feel… weird. It was concrete evidence that he did feel that way about Joel, yet he couldn’t convince himself that was actually possible.

“We’re a couple.” He said eventually.

“We were, yeah. But I completely understand that you don’t remember, Ray. If you do get your memories back, that’s great. But if you don’t, I don’t expect you to automatically feel the same way about me. I just want us to be friends.”

Ray nodded, “Okay. I can do that. I’m sorry I can’t do more, I just… Right now I don’t feel like that.”

“I know, Ray, it’s okay. Just know that I love you, relationship or not.”

* * *

The next few months were weird. Ray had to re-learn everything, from his address to his day-to-day routine. He had to learn how to work at Achievement Hunter, even though he couldn’t understand half the jokes anymore. Joel continued sleeping on the couch, which made Ray feel a little guilty despite him insisting it was fine, and that he was completely okay with it because he just wanted to make sure Ray was okay.

Eventually they started watching old Achievement Hunter content. It was weird at first, hearing himself say things he didn’t remember saying. The whole time, Joel was by his side. He was patient, always, and to say he wasn’t starting to feel something would be a lie.

Four months after he hit his head, the doctor told him it was likely he would never regain the memories.

Five months after he hit his head, he realized that he was falling for Joel.

Five and a half months after he hit his head, he took initiative and kissed Joel for the first time. At least, the first time he could remember. And damn if he’d ever forget the look on Joel’s face when he pulled away.

Just over six months after he hit his head, Ray woke up to remember  _everything_. It wasn’t as if it was gone one minute, there the next. Instead it felt more like a journey. One minute he was dreaming happily, his head resting against Joel’s chest as the older man’s steady breathing lulled him to sleep, and the next it was like he was watching a movie of his own life. Everything from the past two years that he had forgotten seemed to come back to him. When he woke up, he had tears in his eyes.

“Joel…” He said, lightly nudging him. “Joel wake up.”

“Ray?” He asked, blinking blearily at Ray, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Ray pressed a kiss to his lips, firm and full of joy. “I remember. I remember  _everything_.”

“What?” Joel sat up quickly, cupping Ray’s face between his hands and studying him intently. “Everything?” Ray nodded, and Joel pulled him to his chest, holding him tightly. “I’m so glad, Ray.”

“I missed you,” He told Joel, “I’m so glad I remember everything.”

“Me too.”

“But, honestly Joel?” Ray asked, pulling back so he could look his boyfriend in the eyes, “I wouldn’t go back and stop it from happening. I got to fall in love with you twice, and I think that’s pretty amazing.”

And it was.


End file.
